Day #6 post-op

9:19 p.m.

Got to see her a while ago!  She looks great!  She's only needed one unit of blood; we'll see what her hemoglobin is at the next draw.  Praying the night is quiet....

Showing all her "equipment."  Respecting my sweet pea's privacy that she is growing up and she just might not like people seeing her on a ventilator, I have blocked out her face.

7:45 p.m.
She's out. All went well. She's ALL closed. The surgeon said he'll breathe a sigh of relief after her morning ultrasound. She got some blood, not because she lost it in surgery, but because her hemoglobin was already on the low side. I saw her as they wheeled her in the room, but now I'm in the waiting room while the nurses get her all settled. I'll try to update again later :-)

6:20 p.m. Just took her to the OR. Should be about an hour and a half. Will update when I can.

4:50 p.m.
J.C. (surgeon) just stopped in.  Its a go!  No promises they'll get her all the way closed so please send prayers, positive vibes, cosmic forces - whatever you can send Shelby's way so that she can be closed completely.  Thank you :-)

3:54 p.m.
Surgery is still a go (as far as we know) but the case before her is running long.  She is still resting so peacefully (thank God!).  Brief movements from her and then she settles right back down.  Scott got a good nap and our plan is that when she goes to the OR I snooze and he goes to Kohl's House and showers.  I'll update when they take her back.

12:33 p.m.
The precedex was upped a tad and that did the trick.  She's been resting comfortably since.  They had to go back up to 10 on her NO setting (they had it down to 5, I think) and up to 65% on the FiO2 on her vent, but that is not a problem.  Not at all.  Shelby was so "with it" that I asked this morning's nurse to put a sign on her door asking everyone to talk about her care plan (a.k.a. surgery) outside her room otherwise she would get very agitated and shake her head "No!"  I was SO tired after rounds I collapsed in the chair; now its Scott's turn until surgery and then we'll probably snooze in her room until they bring her back from the OR and *kick* us out while they get her settled.

8:15 a.m.
A new drug is on board now, but we're not seeing its benefit yet.  She is now on a constant drip of morphine (260) and precedex (the new one) and gets prn (as needed) doses of ativan, versed and morphine.  So far, all that is not doing the trick :-(  This is very hard to deal with her and see her this way.  Please pray for her to be able to relax and rest.  Her OR time is supposed to be 2:15.  That can't come soon enough!  Scott and I are complete zombies taking turns sleeping in 2 hour (if that) stretches.  

4:13 a.m.
Its been a restless night for Shelby.  We really believe its NOT pain, but agitation.  While I was sleeping she mouthed to Scott "take me home" and then when he was explaining that the tube was helping her breathe, she mouthed "I can breathe."  Ugh.  This is not how lucid we want her to be.  Not.At.All.  Her nurse was great and gave her prn's of Versed and Morphine and the doctors ok'd her dose of Ativan early.  They don't want to up her drip of morphine because she's already on a pretty good dose, plus, we all think its more anxiety than pain.  If the combo just given...nevermind.  Just came back from helping to settle her again. We know that when its time to take her off the vent, this is how she will be.  For now, though, with going back to the OR, NO WAY!  Scott's resting now, but I've taken over watch of her arms going up in the air.  She knows all too well where her breathing tube and urine catheter are.  She can get her hands on them even with the immobilizers.  They do slow her down, but don't stop her.  Its literally a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat type of thing.  Please pray that she does not remember any of this time.  Please.